UK pledges £50 million to help Lebanon cope with Syrian refugees

Britain is massively increasing its aid donations to Lebanon to help the country manage a relentless influx of Syrian refugees without itself being dragged into civil war.

Syrian children sleeping inside their family's tent in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon

By By Ruth Sherlock

12:42AM BST 10 Jul 2013

The £50 million aid package, announced by the British government on Tuesday, is intended to support refugees and Lebanese host communities that are straining to cope.

"It's clear now that this is not just a Syrian crises, it is a regional crises," Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary told the Telegraph during a visit to Lebanon.

"The Lebanese people have been amazingly resilient. But now they need the help of the international community."

Lebanon is hosting more refugees as a percentage of the population than any other country in the world. Over half a million Syrians have already fled across the border and, with up to 3,000 new arrival's every day, that number is "set to double by Christmas" said Mrs Greening.

"That is the equivalent, in population terms, of having 15 million people suddenly arriving in Britain," she added.

With no formal housing for refugees in place, "tented communities" have sprung up on across the country. Families have created their own shelters on scrublands and on roadsides using whatever material they can find – from blankets to potato sacks.

Tens of thousands of other Syrians have moved into the homes of sympathetic Lebanese citizens. But as the war enters its third year, the resources of those host communities are increasingly stretched, and relationships are ever more strained.

Anita Delhaas-van Dijk, National Director of the charity World Vision Lebanon, said: "This isn't just the Syria crisis; it's a regional crisis.

We hear daily stories of heartache not only from refugees, but increasingly from Lebanese people themselves.

"Tensions are bubbling over and communities are at breaking point here in Lebanon. Health services are over-stretched, school class sizes have doubled, rents are soaring and wages are plummeting." The UK's £50 million pledge to Lebanon is a wedge of the £175 million in new funding that the David Cameron announced at the G8 last month.

The new support is intended to provide food and shelter for Syrian refugees. Other initiatives could include cash for work programmes for both refugees and vulnerable Lebanese and livelihood protection projects with vaccinations and feed for Lebanese livestock owners.

A percentage of the new support will also be used for longer-term initiatives that will bolster Lebanon's ability to cope with the refugee influx.

This could include subsidising basic structures and services at a local government level through partner humanitarian agencies. Examples might include support for primary health care centres and counselling services; help with repairing school buildings and training new teachers; or repairs and improvements to water and sewage infrastructure.